The Prestige (2006)

Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall get less to do in The Prestige than the birdcage does. Olivia gets passed between the rivals like a stage prop, and Sarah, who Hall plays beautifully, is mostly there to show the cost of somebody else’s obsession. That’s the flaw in an otherwise near-perfect machine. The rest is Nolan doing a magic trick about magic tricks. Hugh Jackman is the showman who can’t stand losing, Christian Bale is the craftsman who’d give up anything before a secret, and Michael Caine explains illusions like the world’s most patient shop teacher. The diaries-inside-diaries structure keeps you off balance, and every clue is sitting in plain sight. Critics put it at 77% on Rotten Tomatoes and the movie.guru score is a 7.1, but 1.6 million IMDb ratings average an 8.5, and that’s closer to right. An 8.9 because it plays fair, rewards a second watch, and lands its final reveal like a trapdoor opening under your seat. $712 says you try a coin trick on someone this week and they catch it immediately.

What works: Jackman and Bale’s vicious rivalry, Michael Caine’s warm guide role, and a structure that hides every clue in plain sight.

What doesn’t: Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall are stuck in thin roles that exist mostly to serve the two men’s feud.

Who it’s for: People who rewatch twist movies hunting for clues, and anyone who loves a good rivalry.